Best Places In The World To Retire

Belize is an English-speaking country and English is the first language so every doctor here in Ambergris Caye speaks English. Even the hospital staff speaks English. If English is not their first language, they don’t tend to have jobs that are primarily customer facing or expat facing. Medical personnel all have strong English capabilities. 

 

Before its independence, Belize was known as British Honduras so they have been speaking the Queen’s English...

Belize is an English-speaking country and English is the first language so every doctor here in Ambergris Caye speaks English. Even the hospital staff speaks English. If English is not their first language, they don’t tend to have jobs that are primarily customer facing or expat facing. Medical personnel all have strong English capabilities. 

 

Before its independence, Belize was known as British Honduras so they have been speaking the Queen’s English for a lot longer than some people would think. There are some dialects of Creole but the accent would never get in the way of understanding somebody.

 

(In Belize, the Queen's official title is: Elizabeth The Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Belize and of Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, pictured.)

Which place is the worst place in Panama to live will depend almost entirely on an individual person’s perspective and wants.  For example, I wouldn’t want to live in Panama City with its big apartments and city living, but plenty of expats do and like it there very much.
 
There are other expats in Panama who like to live at the beach and others who prefer to live in the mountains.  For example, I’ve met expats from Arizona and Texas who just...

Which place is the worst place in Panama to live will depend almost entirely on an individual person’s perspective and wants.  For example, I wouldn’t want to live in Panama City with its big apartments and city living, but plenty of expats do and like it there very much.
 
There are other expats in Panama who like to live at the beach and others who prefer to live in the mountains.  For example, I’ve met expats from Arizona and Texas who just didn’t want the heat any more, so they chose to live in the mountains of Panama in Boquete, where it’s cool.  There are others who hated living in the cold in the US or Canada, and can’t wait to live in Panama City or at the beach.

 

Panama has enormous diversity of climates, so people can pick different areas to live for different reasons.  In Panama, you can make those choices.

The best reasons to retire overseas have nothing to do with saving money, although that is often a side-benefit.

 

Nor do they have to do with moving from a horrible, frigid climate (like Canada, my home country) to a beautiful place that is warm and sunny 12 months a year (Panama), although, again, that is a side-benefit.

 

Nor is the slower, more relaxed pace of life (in places like Panama) one of the most important reasons for moving overseas,...

The best reasons to retire overseas have nothing to do with saving money, although that is often a side-benefit.

 

Nor do they have to do with moving from a horrible, frigid climate (like Canada, my home country) to a beautiful place that is warm and sunny 12 months a year (Panama), although, again, that is a side-benefit.

 

Nor is the slower, more relaxed pace of life (in places like Panama) one of the most important reasons for moving overseas, although it is definitely a selling point.

 

No, the main reasons you should consider retiring overseas are different, and may surprise you:

 

You have probably lived all your life in the same country, indeed the same state or province, or city. This is a big world. Learn more about it. Expand your horizons. Move somewhere new and discover what it is like to adapt to a different culture. Stretch your mental universe. You will learn lots about your new country -- and  about yourself.

 

If you come from a wealthy and well-organized city like Toronto, as I do, you will be shocked at all of the unmet needs in poorer regions such as Panama. You will see starving dogs on the roads. You will see impoverished indigenous peoples in the countryside, often living in dirt-floor shacks with leaky, thatched roofs. You can react in two ways to these sights: either 1) feel appalled or 2) think of them as opportunities to do something useful with your life, as opportunities to make a contribution. You will be amazed at how much better you will feel about your own life when you start to make a positive contribution to others.

• First, homes are built with concrete or cement in Nicaragua because of the earthquake situation.
• Secondly, Nicaraguan homes don’t use light materials like they do in the States. Nicaraguan houses only have concrete blocks or concrete.
• Third, Nicaraguan houses are two-stories at most. That is the highest they can go because of the...

• First, homes are built with concrete or cement in Nicaragua because of the earthquake situation.
• Secondly, Nicaraguan homes don’t use light materials like they do in the States. Nicaraguan houses only have concrete blocks or concrete.
• Third, Nicaraguan houses are two-stories at most. That is the highest they can go because of the occurrence of earthquakes.
• Fourth, Nicaraguans tend to buy houses with large patios or gardens.
• Fifth, Nicaragua has good standards. We have good architects and developers who build good houses with good construction and in good surroundings. We implement a lot of methods in Nicaragua that are also used in the United States. For example, all condominiums have club houses. We are trying to copy the lifestyle in the United States and Canada, but we build the houses in Nicaragua in a very secure manner.